Tuesday, October 27, 2015

I am sooo excited to be supporting FARE and The Teal Pumpkin Project again this year!! Head on over to the FARE Blog to see my guest post about how we support this amazing idea as a non-allergy family. And while you're there, make the pledge to join the movement that is sweeping the world! You can even put your house on the map as a place that offers non-food items for trick-or-treaters.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

If you know me, you know that I am a firm believer in the process of art, with the product being the result of hard work and participation. Sure, I love displaying what my kids have created, but I also love what being involved in art does to a child. We often worry too much about what the finished product will look like, getting wrapped up in perfection. But isn't being unique far more fun and meaningful than being perfect?

So you can imagine my excitement when I stumbled across this book! All of the activities in the book follow the "premise that children actively explore and discover art as a process of their individual creativity. The finished product is the unique outcome of their involvement."* YES! That's exactly what I just said!! This book is literally speaking my language! As I read, I was reminded that we had been doing action art for years! Now it was a time to take it to the next level...

The Beans and I started with drill painting, and believe me when I tell you that he was in little kid heaven! One of his favorite "I'm bored" activities it to drip holes in wood pieces, cardboard and pumpkins, so this was right up his alley.

What You Need:

big paper

paint

paint brush

power drill

What To Do:

Tape paper to a fence or wall.

Insert the paint brush into the drill where the drill bit would go.

Start painting!

I loved watching this process! The Beans was fully engaged and even stopped for a break only to revisit the project saying "it just keeps changing until it becomes what I want it to be. And maybe I'll change it again later to make it something else." :)

Now tell me you don't want to try this yourself, and stick around for more action art!! We're just getting started ;)